War of words erupts involving Hungarian Member of European Parliament, former European Commissioner for Digital Affairs
Date
1/13/2025 3:48:03 AM
(MENAFN) A war of words has erupted involving Hungarian Member of the European Parliament András Lázló, former European Commissioner for Digital Affairs Thierry Breton, and tech billionaire Elon Musk, with accusations surrounding misinformation about the EU's role in interfering with elections. The debate began when Lázló, a member of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, took to platform X on Saturday to criticize what he perceived as double standards in the regulation of Political donations and expression of opinions in Europe. He pointed to instances where he claimed the EU had remained silent on foreign interference in Hungarian elections, particularly citing a $10 million illegal donation to left-wing groups in Hungary's 2022 elections and funding from the U.S. Embassy in Budapest to left-leaning media. Lázló also referred to Hungary's Sovereignty Protection Law, which the European Commission had challenged, accusing Brussels of hypocrisy in its stance.
Musk retweeted Lázló's comments to his 212 million followers, endorsing them with a simple "exactly." The situation escalated further when Musk engaged in a discussion regarding a misunderstanding from an earlier interview with Breton, who had talked about the potential rise of Germany's far-right AfD party in February elections. The controversy stemmed from a video shared by Visegrád 24, which had been accused of spreading misinformation, claiming that the EU had mechanisms to annul electoral results in cases such as the AfD's victory, referencing Romania as an example.
Musk shared the video, criticizing Breton as the "tyrant of Europe." In response, Breton quickly denied the accusation, clarifying that the EU has no mechanism to cancel elections and that the video merely discussed the application of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates online platforms to moderate harmful content. Breton emphasized that the EU’s laws must be enforced, but denied any suggestion that they could be used to annul elections. He also rejected the notion that the video Musk referenced was about electoral interference, calling it a case of "lost in translation" or potential "fake news."
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